Anchor holder



June 4, 1940. G. E. MAXWELL 2,203,390

ANCHOR HOLDER Filed May 6, 1939 Patented June 4, 1940 ANCHOR HOLDER George Earl Maxwell, White Bear Lake, Minn.

Application May 6, 1939, Serial No. 272,244 7 Claims. (01. 114-206) My invention relates to an improvement in anchor holders wherein it is desired to provide a device for securely supporting an anchor on the exterior of a boat. r

Because of the difficulty involved in raising and lowering anchors from small boats, it has sometimes been found desirable to provide bracket arms extending over the edge of the boat and to lower a pulley on this bracket of such a type 10 that the anchor may be held thereby in set position. While such anchor holders are of course an improvement over the old method of dropping the anchor over the side of the boat and having to lift the anchor into the boat each time the anchor was raised, it has been found thatcon siderable damage may'be done to the boat by the suspended anchor. Anchors are often irregular in shape and are necessarily quite heavy, so that as they are'isuspended from a pulley near the i0 exterior ofthe boat, any rocking movement of the boat causes the anchor to'be swung against the surface of theboat. This naturally causes great likelihood of damaging' the boat, and accordingly it is common practice to lift the an- 1 chor into the boat, particularly when the boat is to be rowed o'r'otherwise propelled a considerablejdistance. Itwill' be easily understood that when the an it is not easily drawninto' the boat, and there is always danger of tilting the boat or falling out of the boat during thisoperation. It is an object of the present invention to provid'ea device forholding an anchor which device includes a bracketdesigned to be secured extendin'g over the edge of the boat and to provide on this holdera' sleeve or shell into'which a portion of the anchor may be drawn to prevent the anchor from striking the surface of the boat. v'I'hus when the anchor is in raisedposition, the boat 40 may be moved about freely without danger ofinjury to the exterior surface of the boat by the anchorstriking against the same and without injuryto'the'interior of' the boat by reason of having the anchor dropped into the boat.

;- It is a feature of my invention to provide an anchor holder which will engage the-anchor in raised position of the same and prevent the anchor from swaying, and thus accentuating the rocking of I the boat. It will be understood that when the anchor is suspended freely from the usual bracket on the front of a boat, any side movement of the bo'atwillcause the anchor to roc'kjbacki and forth, tending to rock the boat back,=and;forth in unison. 1- Thus any side rocking movements of the boat which would ordi-L chor is suspended from a bracket,

narily be accentuated by the suspended anchor would notbe emphasized by my novel means ofsupporting the anchor.

It is an important feature'of my invention to provide an anchor holder embodying a down- 5..

wardly extending sleeve or hollow support into which a portion of the anchor may bedrawn and to provide a means of supportingan anchor rope, chain, or cable extending through this hollow support by means of which the anchor maybe 10;.

raised and lowered. It is a further important" feature of my invention to provide a vertical slot in the front of this hollow support which will permit the rope or other means supporting the anchor to assume a considerable angle with'the 15 vertical in lowered position of theanchor, so" that the twisting strain upon the anchor holder'isgreatly reduced. It will be obvious that ifthe' anchor rope extended through a cylindrical u'nslotted tube, there would be a considerable strain 2%,-

upon this tube when the anchor rope was pulled to a considerable angle from the verticaL' This" bending strain isvirtually'eliminated in'my novel construction by the slot in the front of the holder which permits the "rope to be virtually straight 25 from the supporting pulley'to' the anchor even though the rope extendsataconsiderable a'ngle with'the'vertical. It is a feature 'offimyinvention'to provide an anchor holder which will'engage'the anchor in 30;

raised position thereof and which will be held in raised position" by alockingineans'used in combination with myholder; This locking means holds'the anchor in' closeengagement' with the anchor holderin raised position, and it 35 is not necessary that the rope be tied or otherwise secured in the boat afterthis locking arrangement has been set. It is another feature'of my invention that my anchor holderis designed-to permit considera 4Q ble angularity between the anchorand the boat when the anchor-is in loweredposition, but is constructed in such a manner as to guide the anchor into secured position'in the holder when raised regardless of the angularity which was 45 previously assumed in lowered position. *As the anchor is raised, the weight of the same will cause the anchor to become vertically aligned with the holder and to be drawn into the lower end of the holder. i

These and other objects. and novel features of my invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims. In the drawing forming a part of my specification: I

Figure l is a side elevational view of the front of a boat supporting my anchor holder.

Figure 2 is a central vertical section through my anchor holder on a line indicated by the line 2-2 of Figure 3.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of my anchor holder.

Figure 4 is a front elevational view of the same.

My anchor holder A is designed for attachment to a boat B and is preferably secured as illustrated extending over the front edge of the boat, although it may be secured in any desired position overhanging the boat edge. The anchor rope or cable l0 extends into the boat at its upper extremity and is attached to an anchor C at its lower extremity. The anchor C is preferably of the mushroom type, commonly used on small boats at the present time, but may be any type of anchor having a supporting shank H. In the form shown in Figure 2 of the drawa ing, the shank II is provided with an enlarged head l2 having openings |3 therethrough to permit the drainage of water. A large eye M at the top of the shank permits the rope I0 to be secured to the anchor; or if desired, this rope may extend through a longitudinal opening through the anchor and be tied at the bottom of the same.

The anchor holder comprises a pair of spaced supporting brackets 5 having vertical flanges |6 and horizontal flanges 1. Spaced openings H! are provided through the horizontal flanges I! to accommodate bolts such as 20 for securing the anchor holder A to the boat B.

Projecting downwardly from the forward end of the spaced brackets I5 I provide a tubular portion 2| which acts to accommodate the upper end of the shank of'the anchor C. This tubular member 2| may be provided with vertical slots 22 therein on opposite sides of the same, and also a vertical slot 23 in the rear edge of the same, between the attaching cars 24. In order to facilitate manufacture, the bracket A may be made in two parts connected together by bolts 25 extending through the ears 24 on the tubular portion 2| of the holder, and by a bolt 26 extending transversely between the forward ends of the brackets IS. The vertical slots 22 and 23 are not necessary to the construction of the device, and may be eliminated if desired. The only usefulness of these slots is to permit the device to be cleaned if necessary more readily and to lighten the weight of the device.

A slot 21 extends from the lower extremity of the tubular member 2| to a point 29 spaced from the top of the bracket to permit the rope or cable |0 supporting the anchor to assume a substantial angle with the vertical without strain upon the tubular portion 2| of the holder. As will be seen in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing, the rope Ill may extend angularly out of the holder through the slot 21 and yet pull directly upon the supporting pulley 29 mounted upon the bolt 26. This is of extreme importance in the present invention as without this slot 21, the rope l0 would have to extend substantially vertically throughout the length of the tubular portion 2| so that when the rope l0 assumed an angle to the vertical, there would be considerable bending strain upon the tubular portion 2|.

A locking means D is provided for holding the rope H] in locked position. This holder comprises a tubular barrel 30' having a bifurcated end 3| which straddles the pulley 29 and which is mounted upon the bolt 26 to pivot with respect thereto. This tubular member can thus pivot with respect to the bracket A. A rope engaging bolt 35 extending between the flanges I6 of thespaced brackets 5. From an observation of Figure 2 of the drawing, it is obvious that when the tubular member 30 is pivoted in an anticlockwise direction about the bolt 26, the pivot point 33 will be lowered with respect to the fixed bolt 35, therefore pivoting the bifurcated end 34 upwardly with respect to the tubular member 30 and lowering the rope engaging end of the dog 32 out of engagement with the rope ||J. As the tubular member 30 is pivoted in a clockwise direction about the bolt 26, the opposite action will take place ,as the pivot 33 will be raised with respect to the fixed bolt 35, causing the dog 32 to be urged into forcible contact with the rope |0. As the rope is locked by the dog 32 to the tubular member 30, increased strain upon the anchor engaging end of the rope l0 will tend to rotate the tubular member 30 in a clockwise direction, thus increasing the locking engagement between the dog 32 and the rope. A spring 36 maybe provided between the tubular member 30 and a transverse bridge 31 extending between the brackets |5 above the pulley 29, tending to rotate the tubular member 30 in a clockwise direction about the bolt 26.

The operation of the device is believed clearly obvious from the foregoing description. When it is desired to raise the anchor C, the end of the rope |0 within the boat B is pulled. This pull tends to rotate the dog 32 about its pivot 33 in an anti-clockwise direction, lowering the tubular member 30 and unlocking the rope l0. As the anchor is raised, it gradually assumes vertical alignment with the tubular portion 2| of the holder, due to the weight of the anchor- Thus when the anchor C is raised, the upper end of the shank ll of the same will enter the lower rounded edge 39 ofthe tubular member 2|. When the shank II has been pulled to its upper-most position within the tubular member 2|, the end of the rope I!) within the boat is held above the level of the tubular member 30 so that any downward movement of the anchor causes engagement of the locking dog 32 with the rope,-

preventing further lowering of the anchor.

When it is desired to lower the anchor, the rope Ill is held below the level of the tubular member 30, pivoting the tubular member 30 in an anticlockwise direction, releasing the dog 32 and allowing the anchor to drop to any desired extent.

It will be seen that the anchor holder will support the anchor C out of contact with the boat B, and that when the anchor is in lowered position, there will be little strain upon the tubular member 2| of the holder. be employed if desired to connect the lower end of the tubular member 2| to the boat to further.

brace this lower end of the holder.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have Brace arms 40 may described the principles of construction and operation of my anchor holder; and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiments thereof, I desire to have it understood that this is only illustrative of a means of carrying out my invention, and that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims 1without departing from the spirit of my inven- 10H.

- Ill I claim:

1. An anchor holder comprising a bracket by means of which the holder may be supported, a tubular member extending in substantially vertical relationship thereto and secured to said bracket, means at the top of said tubular member guiding a rope through said tubular member, and said tubular member formed to provide a vertical slot from the lower extremity of said tubular member to a point near the top of the same, through which the rope may extend.

2. An anchor holder for use with an anchor and anchor rope, comprising a substantially vertical tubular member, a means for securing said tubular member in substantially vertical position to a boat, a means at the top of said tubular member for guiding the anchor rope through said tubular member, and said tubular member formed to provide a slot in said tubular member extending upwardly from the lower-most end thereof through which said rope may extend.

3. An anchor holder for use upon a boat in combination with an anchor and anchor rope, comprising a hollow casing into which the anchor may extend, means adjacent the top of said casing for attaching said casing in approximately vertical position to a boat, and said casing formed to provide a slot in said casing extending from the lower extremity of said casing upwardly in said casing through which said rope may extend.

4. An anchor holder for use with a boat in combination with an anchor and anchor rope, comprising a generally vertically positioned hollow casing having an open bottom thereupon into which the anchor may extend, pulley means in the top of said casing for guiding the anchor rope through said casing, and said casing formed to provide a substantially vertical slot in communication with said open bottom in said casing and extending upwardly, terminating below the level of said pulley means through which said rope may extend.

5. An anchor holder comprising a bracket designed for attachment to a boat, a pulley supported by said bracket, a substantially vertically positioned hollow tubular casing beneath said pulley having an open bottom end, and said'casing formed to provide a slot in said tubular casing opposite said bracket in communication with said open bottom end.

6. An anchor holder comprising a pair of spaced brackets, a tubular member secured to one end of each of said brackets and extending downwardly therefrom, a pulley secured between said brackets and above said tubular member, said tubular member having an open bottom end, and said casing formed to provide a slot in said tubular member aligned with said pulley and in communication with said open bottom end.

'7. An anchor holder comprising a pair of spaced brackets, a pulley mounted between said brackets near one end thereof, a tubular member secured to said one end of said brackets extending downwardly therefrom beneath said pulley, a rope lock secured between said brackets, and said casing formed to provide a slot in said tubular member communicating with the lower end thereof in alignment with said pulley;

GEORGE EARL MAXWELL. 

